ocation: Vangani, Maharashtra

 Area: 1800 sqft in 1/2 acre plot.

Year: 2016

Design Team: Vikram Pawar, Mahima Seth Pawar, Sujata Thosar, Siddharth Jain, Kabir Nijjar

A young couple from the heart of the city is keen to spend 50% of their active time amidst natural habitat nurturing a small farm. They are receptive to ideas of earth architecture, Bamboo and recycled timber and at the same time want the spaces to be customized for urban sensibilities.

When one chooses to work with seemingly traditional materials and the client wants to contract the execution himself, the challenge is multifold. Established practices and hierarchies are challenged, the architects finds themselves  constantly negotiating their position in the team comprising of village artisans who are mostly part time workers and relatively inflexible (in their first project with an architect) about the traditional way of working.And yet the final outcome is as originally intended and the material palette, a challenge to traditionally accepted norms. Treated Bamboo, Stabilised Earth Blocks, Recycled Timber, Natural stone, Recycled chipboards and Bitumen impregnated roofing sheets, all contribute in making the construct ecologically and economically rewarding.